Vol. 1 - Ch. 24 - Poker

Wait, why did he use "also" in that sentence?

Chen Yan is Chen Yan, not something else wearing his skin; of this Chen Ling could be certain. Since the same gray calamity descended, since the "audience" could merge with him... then why couldn't the other calamity that descended merge with humans? But all of this is Chen Ling's speculation... the truth, perhaps only he can find out by asking directly.

Just as Chen Ling hesitated whether to knock on the door, it swung open from the inside.

"Brother." Chen Yan rubbed his eyes, "What are you doing?"

"...I have something to ask you."

Chen Yan opened his mouth to speak, but his gaze darted towards Chu Muyun's room across the hall. He ushered Chen Ling inside, shutting the door firmly.

"A-yan, I'll just ask you directly." Chen Ling looked into his eyes seriously, "Were you the one who massacred Ice Spring Street?"

Chen Yan's body trembled, seeing the broken amulet pieces in Chen Ling's hand, he silently lowered his head.

"...Yeah."

Seeing Chen Yan admit so straightforwardly, Chen Ling was taken aback.

"So it really was you?" Chen Ling confirmed, "Did you merge with a calamity as well?"

"...I don't know, I woke up and was already there."

"You also lost a chunk of your memory?"

"Yeah."

Chen Ling's brow furrowed slightly.

He believed that Chen Yan wouldn't lie to him. He was experiencing similar oddities – inexplicable travel, the strange "audience" in his head, and when he had first woken up, he was already back home.

"But the place where the gray realms intersected wasn't on the mountainside, right? You should have still been in surgery... Why were you affected too?"

"I don't know." Chen Yan shook his head again, "All I remember is the doctor giving me anesthesia, and when I woke up, I was in Ice Spring Street... I was very scared, so I hid in the mountainside. When I came out again, I saw you climbing out of that monster..."

Hearing this, Chen Ling finally connected the dots.

But why Chen Yan was affected by the intersection of the gray realms was still a question... Could it be that when the calamity invaded Zone 2, it happened to encounter Chen Yan on the operating table? And then merged?

Chen Ling didn't quite understand the process of this "merging", and he couldn't think of anything even if he tried.

"I understand."

Chen Ling nodded, "You stay at home these days, don't go anywhere, understand? I'll handle the rest."

Chen Yan hesitated to speak.

"What's wrong?"

"I... I wanted to see Mom and Dad..."

Chen Ling was stunned. After a long silence, he spoke softly, "Wait for me to clear your name first, and after everything settles down, I'll take you to see them, okay?"

"Okay." Chen Yan nodded obediently.

"Stay away from Chu Muyun these days, don't let him touch you, and talk to him less."

"Okay."

"If Han Meng comes to you again and asks you some questions, just answer like this..."

"Okay."

After Chen Ling finished instructing, he turned and left.

Chen Yan gently locked the door and lay down on the hard plank bed...

He turned his head to look out the window, and in his chestnut-colored eyes, there was the reflection of the sky filled with blue auroras.

Suddenly, at the end of the aurora sky, a faint red light lit up, like a vermilion star.

"Here it comes again," Chen Yan murmured to himself.

As the vermilion star became brighter, a dreamlike road extended from nothingness, connecting directly to Chen Yan's bedside... The road floated and swayed between the star and him, like a gentle ribbon.

Chen Yan lay on the bed, calmly watching this divine road, which was an olive branch thrown to him by a deity.

After a moment, he slowly raised his hand and grabbed the elusive ribbon...

And then,

He crushed it with force!

Bang—

A faint sound lingered in Chen Yan's ears.

With a single hand, he shattered the divine road, turning it into countless fragments that dissipated into nothingness. At the same time, the vermilion star in the sky quickly dimmed.

He had rejected the divine favor.

Chen Yan opened his hand, revealing a single, thumb-sized shard of the divine road. It glowed with a faint vermilion light, resembling a piece of exquisite glass.

With a casual flick of his wrist, he tossed the shard into a bedside drawer. He shut the drawer with a decisive click.

Inside the darkness, over thirty identical fragments of vermillion glass pulsed with a faint, eerie glow.

...

Morning arrived, and Chen Ling rose early, preparing himself for the day ahead.

Today, there was no "kind-hearted person" who would cover his bus fare, so he had to walk to Ice Spring Street. The round trip alone would take more than four hours, so he had to rise and return later than other trainee enforcers.

To his surprise, Chu Muyun seemed to have gotten up even earlier.

Upon entering the living room, Chen Ling found Chu Muyun seated at the table, clad in a casual shirt and knitted vest. He held an ancient medical book, seemingly engrossed in his studies, occasionally adjusting his glasses.

It was as if he wasn't sitting in a drafty old living room, but in an elegant café in Aurora City.

Spotting Chen Ling, Chu Muyun smiled and set the book aside.

"Good morning."

"Morning."

Chen Ling replied casually and hurriedly left, heading to Zhao's Breakfast Shop across the street for breakfast.

Since the last time he "passed the message" to Uncle Zhao, Chen Ling felt a bit guilty. Thus, he visited their shop every morning to give them more business. As for Zhao Yi, he had been grounded by Uncle Zhao for a week and hadn't left the house yet.

After Chen Ling left, Chu Muyun slowly put down the book.

Silently, he made his way to Chen Ling's room, his steps on the old floorboards making no sound, as if he were a ghost.

Standing by Chen Ling's bedside, Chu Muyun's eyes narrowed slightly behind his glasses.

With white gloves on, he delicately retrieved several strands of hair scattered on the pillow using a pair of tweezers. Along with tiny flakes of skin, he carefully placed them all into a brown empty bottle.

Having completed all this, he quietly exited the room, waving his hand lightly to create a breeze that swept across the floor, erasing any traces he left behind.

Instead of returning to his own room, he walked straight out of the house, crossing several streets until he reached the entrance of a rundown convenience store.

Ding-a-ling—

As he pushed open the store door, a crisp bell rang.

"What do you want to buy?" A woman sitting behind the counter lazily yawned, asking casually.

"I want to buy a thread of hope."

Upon hearing this answer, the woman's gaze instantly froze.

The previous laziness completely disappeared, replaced by a pair of cold and sharp eyes. She stared at Chu Muyun in front of her and slowly spoke:

"Show me your identity."

Chu Muyun raised his fingertip lightly, and a white playing card magically appeared in his palm, which he placed face down on the table.

The woman flipped over the card—

[Seven of Spades]

"Password," she spoke again.

Chu Muyun replied indifferently,

"Human civilization..."

"...shall never extinguish.”

This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.

Notes

T/N: omg plot twist??? Is our lil bro a yan a brocon? Who is chu mu yun exactly omg Hehe he...

Vol. 1 - Ch. 24 - Poker

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